Due to their size, small pests such as insects and rodents are able to easily inhabit remote areas within structures having limited access, such as wall or ceiling voids, without being detected. This is particularly true of structures built with metal supports. The metal supports typically contain a number of holes to provide a convenient means of passing wires and the like behind a wall. Even most structures built using wooden supports have holes drilled through the wooden supports for the same purpose. The holes within the supports make it easy for small pests to travel behind the structure without being detected. Because it is difficult for people to access these remote areas, detecting and suppressing pests located behind these structures has proven to be a challenge using current pest detection methods.
One common method currently used to detect pests is to place bait directly at the location(s) of suspected pest infestation. While this method can be effectively used in remote areas by dropping the bait behind the structures, verification of the pests either taking or consuming the bait is difficult. Another method of detecting pests is to place tracking systems such as loose powder at the location(s) where it is suspected that the pests are located. However, this method allows the spread of loose powder that may be environmentally unfriendly and that may give a dirty or unsanitary appearance. This method is also not very useful for detection of pests located in remote areas unless the person can somehow observe the tracking devices from the opposite side of the structure. Still another method currently being used to detect the presence of pests is by electronic sensors. While the electronic sensors are both sophisticated and effective, the sensors are typically complex, expensive, and require power and maintenance by experts in the field.